The Apple That Brought Them Closer Together
by Doggett.Rules
Summary: I own nothing Cheers. Everyone is at Cheers when Sam is laughing while eating an apple. When the apple gets stuck can his friends save him or will Diane come to his rescue?


It was just another day of working in Cheers for Sam Malone as he walked behind the bar and looked around at his friends who were talking. Coach was standing talking to Carla and Sam picked up an apple off the bar near him, then he took a bite out of it. He could hear Carla complaining about Diane from behind him and he chuckled to himself as Coach got confused once again. Sam looked up at the door as it swung open and Norm strolled in then went over to sit with Cliff who was sipping a beer.

"Norm!" Everyone shouted.

Sam smiled as he saw Carla and Coach were now both nodding at eachother as they talked, and Sam handed Norm a beer to drink. Sam was still laughing at them as he took another bite of the apple. Sam shouldn't have laughed as the piece of apple got stuck in his throat and he began coughing. Cliff who was nearby with Norm looked at him worriedly as he coughed violently trying to bring the piece of food up.

"Sam, are you okay?" Norm asked.

Sam didn't reply as he couldn't if he wanted too, then he swallowed hoping to dislodge the piece of apple, but that only made it worse. As Sam tried to cough again, he realised he couldn't as he couldn't breathe and he grabbed his throat with his hands. His eyes were wide and he was starting to panic as he realised he was choking.

"Sam?" Carla asked.

"You know I'm no good at sharades Sam," Coach pointed out.

"It's a movie," Norm yelled.

"Is it three words?" Carla asked.

"He's not playing sharades, he's choking!" Cliff realised.

At that moment Cliff realised and he ran over from where he was sitting and over to where Sam was. Sam was getting dizzy, he saw his friend running over to him and Cliff had been taught by his training from the post office what to do in that situation. Cliff stood behind him, put one fist under his rib cage and put the other hand on top of it. He quickly thrusted inwards and upwards, using the Heimlich manoeuvre, hoping to dislodge the food from Sam's windpipe.

Coach, Carla and Norm were beside them now as they waited, praying Sam would cough up the piece of food. The food was still stuck in Sam's throat and it showed no sign of being dislodged. Sam was starting to feel light headed from the lack of oxygen. His face was red, his vision was turning grey and a ringing noise in his ears blocked out the sounds of panicked voices around him.

Sam's hands at his throat became lose and they dropped to his sides as he gave in to the blackness that tried to take him away from the world. He sagged in Cliff's grasp but Cliff still tried to get Sam to expel the food. At that moment Diane burst through the door smiling and when she saw Sam in Cliff's arms unconscious, she threw he coat off and ran over to them behind the bar.

"Sam!" Diane shouted.

After a few more thrusts, the piece of apple flew out of Sam's mouth and Cliff set him down on the ground with Diane's help. Cliff dropped to his knees beside Sam, and he brought up his hand to tap his face lightly, but then harder when he didn't respond. Diane also dropped down beside the unconscious man who was her ex boyfriend but they would soon be dating again no doubt and everyone else stood behind them looking concerned.

"Sam?" Coach asked.

"Sam, can you hear me?" Diane asked.

With no response Cliff held his ear above Sam's mouth and nose, checking to see if Sam was breathing. After a few seconds he didn't feel or hear anything and he blanched. He looked up at the few people around him and he shook his head as he spoke.

"He's not breathing," Cliff told them.

"Move Cliff," Diane said.

"I know what to do I-" Cliff started.

"I said move Cliff," Diane told him.

Diane instantly leapt in to action as she looked at Sam as she moved closer to his face. As Diane hunched over Sam's face, she lifted his neck, levered back his forehead and pinched his nose closed with her thumb and forefinger. Diane took a deep breath and parted Sam's lips, before sealing his lips with her own. One, two breaths were blown in to his mouth and Sam's cheeks puffed out.

"Come on Sam," Norm urged.

"Breathe Sam, please breathe," Diane begged.

Diane continued trying to save Sam's life then as she continued the life saving procedure and after a minute he was rewarded with a small gasp from Sam before he started coughing. Diane sat back on her knees and let out a relieved sigh as she stroked his hair and Sam opened his brown eyes slowly. Every object was blurred and as Sam blinked the unfocused concerned faces of his friends filled his vision, which made him smile slightly.

"Was someone kissing me?" Sam stated with a smirk.

**Thanks for reading guys. I know this is kinda short, but I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it isn't too OOC and if you didn't like it I apologise. My dad recently bought Cheers season 1 and 2 boxsets and I love the show so I thought I would write a Sam/Diane fic because I love them. Anyway please review as I love knowing what you guys think and it is much appreciated :)**


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